My invention pertains to a method and apparatus for the restoration and/or buildup of a stretch of beach which has been or is in danger of being eroded by such natural forces as winds, tides, waves and water currents.
Especially along shorelines where residential, recreational or other structures have been erected close to the shoreline, any substantial change in or erosion of a pre-existing shoreline can seriously affect the use, enjoyment and value of the man-made facilities along or near the shoreline.
While the need for restoration of eroded beaches is increasing as more and more beach areas are being bordered with homes, condominiums and public and private recreational facilities, the options available for beach restoration have been restricted by recent federal, state and local regulations designed to preserve natural resources and prevent ecological damage.
My method and apparatus for beach restoration does no ecological damage but instead is totally pollution-free. It preserves all natural resources and requires no permanent or long term man-made structures either along the shoreline or in the water. No foreign gravel or fill is hauled in by trucks. No sea bottom deposits are discharged onto the beach from barges lying offshore and sucking up existing sea bottom deposits.
My method of beach restoration requires only the erection of temporary non-polluting structures along the stretch of beach for a short period of time. When the beach has been restored, these structures are cleanly and completely removed.
Briefly, my invention requires the erection and temporary maintenance of a plurality of individual nets located generally perpendicular to the shoreline and running from the high tide line to the low tide line. The nets are suspended from a line maintained generally parallel to the sea floor and somewhat above the surface of the sea at high tide. The bottom of the net is weighted so that the bottom of the net will lie upon the sea floor.
Preferably the net is made of nylon cord and the mesh of the net is chosen so that the larger rocks, coral fragments, sea shells and shell fragments lying along the sea bottom at that particular beach area will not pass through the net. Each net lying at 90.degree. to the shoreline and running from the high tide line to the low tide line is maintained in that position for 24 hours or more depending upon the existing tide, wind and wave conditions. Exposure of the net to these natural forces will cause a gradual buildup of shells, coral, rocks and sand around the lower portion of the net.
This buildup of the natural elements of the sea bottom will gradually bury the lower portion of the net to a depth of as much as two feet or more at the low tide end of the net and to a somewhat lesser height along the rest of the net. Then when the buildup has reached its maximum height, the net and its supporting structures can be taken down and the net dragged out of the built up ridge by a winch or other means located on the beach.
By the use of a plurality of parallel nets positioned several yards apart along a beach, a considerable stretch of beach can be built up and restored in a relatively short period of time and at a small fraction of the cost of any alternative method of restoration. Equally important, the process uses only those elements already present along the shoreline and thus the process restores the beach to its pre-existing natural state.
A successful demonstration of my invention was recently conducted at Pelican Bay located on the Gulf of Mexico just north of the City of Naples in Collier County, Fla.